Earhealth monitoring system and method I

• US 8,194,864 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2007
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ST EarTech, LLC
• Original Assignee: Personics Holdings, Inc.
• Inventors: Goldstein, Steven W., Usher, John, Fligor, Brian, Keady, John P.
• Primary Examiner(s): ELBIN, JESSE A
• Application Number:
  US11/928,290
• Publication Number:
  US 20080212787A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,680 Days
• Field of Search: 381 56- 60, 381/72, 600/25, 735/85, 736/45, 736/46
• US Class Current: 381/56
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/121 evaluating hearing capacity
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6817 Ear canal
• CPC Class Codes: G01H 3/14 Measuring mean amplitude; Measuring mean power; Measuring time integral of power

Abstract

Methods of operating an audio device are provided. A method includes calculating estimated sound pressure levels (SPLs) for drive signals directed to an ear canal receiver (ECR) during a time increment Δt; calculating an estimated SPL_Dose during the time increment Δt using the estimated sound pressure levels; and calculating a total SPL_Dose at a time t of the audio device using the estimated SPL_Dose.

Claims

1. A method of operating an audio device configured to be inserted in an ear canal, the method comprising:

measuring sound pressure levels (SPLs) for at least one electrical drive signal directed to an ear canal receiver (ECR) during a time period Δ

t having a plurality of samples;

determining a SPL dose of the at least one electrical drive signal during the time period Δ

t using the measured sound pressure levels;

simultaneously estimating an ambient SPL dose within the ear canal during the time period Δ

t;

calculating a total SPL dose of the audio device using the SPL dose of the at least one electrical drive signal and the estimated ambient SPL dose; and

performing an action by the audio device when the total SPL dose is greater than a predetermined threshold.

2. The method according to claim 1, further including:

comparing the measured sound pressure levels for the at least one electrical drive signal to a permissible sound level (PSL), and if the measured sound pressure levels are less than the PSL within an error margin, then the step of determining the SPL dose uses a recovery function to generate the SPL dose during the time period Δ

t.

3. The method according to claim 2, where the error margin is zero.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

reading an action parameter from a readable memory when the total SPL dose is greater than the predetermined threshold.

5. The method according to claim 1, where the action includes at least one of modifying an operation of the audio device, modifying the at least one electrical drive signal directed to the ECR, and sending an acoustic notification signal to a user.